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The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA up to this point. Perhaps the play styles for the different players don’t match. It could be because Al Horford‘s regression has really hurt the Sixers. Perhaps it’s because they don’t have enough spacing, and their bench is just average. Maybe they aren’t motivated to play hard on the road. Possibly it’s because Brett Brown sucks. Maybe it’s a little bit of all those things, but one thing is for certain. Talent is not the issue.
Lucky for the Philadelphia 76ers, the hiatus gave every team a reset, and it only takes one good run to turn the whole season around.
Why the Philadelphia 76ers Might Bounce Back
The 76ers are far too good of a team to be sitting at the sixth seed. I believe that they will be one of the teams who benefit from the pause in action. All hot streaks and chemistry teams had built up now are gone, and the Sixers didn’t have either of those things anyway, so no loss there! Also, since teams won’t be at midseason form, they will be much more reliant on star players, and the Philadelphia 76ers boast talent.
Something else I believe the Sixers will benefit from is the change in their starting lineup. Shake Milton will add much-needed shooting to Philadelphia’s starting lineup, and Ben Simmons playing power forward will allow him to post up and cut to the hoop more often while it will make his lack of a shot less of an issue, as he will have the ball in his hands less.
Why the Philadelphia 76ers Might Fail
The 76ers have shown that their lineup doesn’t mesh too well. Despite their talent, if they don’t play well together in the playoffs, they won’t win. Signing Al Horford to play alongside Joel Embiid in the front court was a huge mistake. Embiid and Horford are unplayable together, especially when Simmons is in the game. Horford has regressed defensively, and on offense he seems like he has no role. If he can’t figure it out, that will put lots of pressure on the other 76ers to play well, and although Embiid is very good, he is rather inconsistent.
Tobias Harris will also need to step up for Philadelphia to make a run. He hasn’t had any playoff success up until now, and this year the Sixers won’t have Jimmy Butler to bail them out in clutch situations. They need Harris to be that guy.
The Schedule
Luckily for Philadelphia, their seeding schedule isn’t too bad.
The game against the Pacers should be a pretty even matchup that the Sixers should win if they play well, and then they play the Spurs, Wizards, and Magic, and Brett Brown should be fired on the spot if they lose to any of those three teams. (If you ask me, he should be fired on the spot regardless, but anyway…) Then Philly plays the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers, similar to the 76ers, underperformed, and now Portland has to fight for a playoff spot. But you can’t count out any team that Damian Lillard plays for. OKC Thunder fans can tell you a lot about that if you’re interested.
Their next game against the Suns should be a pretty easy one if the Sixers just don’t do what they do best, which is losing to inferior teams. The Toronto Raptors have been playing very well against the 76ers this season, and this will probably be Philadelphia’s toughest game of the schedule. Then, they’ll finish up against the Raptors, where Joel Embiid will absolutely manhandle 6’5″ PJ Tucker in the post. Can’t wait to see that. If Philadelphia can contain Harden and Westbrook, which is much easier said than done, then they will have a very good chance to win that game.
Prediction
The Philadelphia 76ers will play well in the Orlando bubble. I truly think that the break in play benefits the Sixers more than most other teams. I expect Philadelphia to go 5-3 in their 8 game schedule, and then move on past the first round. They have the talent to make it to the finals, but I think it is more likely that their season ends in the second round of the playoffs.
